


Summer Bloom

by Mauve_Avenger



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bonding, Coming of Age, Friendship, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 19:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20569634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauve_Avenger/pseuds/Mauve_Avenger
Summary: Toph is growing up. Luckily, she's not alone.





	Summer Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> So...this is what I did with my weekend. I hope you enjoy it!

The pain that woke her was blinding. Or it _ would _ have been, if birth hadn't taken care of that already. Toph rolled onto her side and groaned miserably.

_ What is going on? _ The words rang in her head as if she had screamed them out loud. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to breathe through wave after wave of pain. It emanated from her lower belly. For a moment, Toph thought she had been stabbed. She clutched at her stomach frantically, but there was no wound. That was a relief, but only for a moment. The pain hadn't abated, and Toph still didn't know why.

She couldn't tell what time it was. Even if her feet had been on the floor, the Fire Lord's old vacation home was mostly wood, so she couldn't sense her friends clearly. Still, the lack of noise from her companions, and of the tell tale warmth of the sun through her window told her that it was either very late or very early. Everyone was still asleep.

Katara wouldn't mind being woken if Toph was sick, though. As annoying as the older girl could be, she _ lived _ for moments where she could let go and _ really _ go into Mom-Mode. 

With that thought, Toph threw her legs over the side of her bed and climbed to her feet. The pain in her stomach made her double over. There was a very real chance she wouldn't make it to the door, she realized. Sure enough, she made it two steps when she felt something warm and wet slide down her leg. Horrified, Toph felt for the wetness. Had she peed herself in her sleep? She hadn't done that in years. But there wasn't enough fluid, and it didn't feel right. It was too thick for urine. It felt more viscous. Kind of like…

"_Katara!" _ Toph crumpled to the floor, her pain momentarily forgotten in her panic. " _ Katara _!"

Toph's screams had an almost immediate effect. Months on the run meant that none of the Gaang was a very heavy sleeper. Soon the house was alive with rushing footsteps. The door to Toph's room flung open, hitting the wall with a loud crack 

"Toph!" Zuko's had made it to her first. He knelt at her side and put his hands on her shoulders, uncertain if he should move her or not. "What happened?"

"I'm hurt," Toph's voice wavered, on the verge of tears. Someone else arrived then- a few someones- and the room was filled with concerned, wary voices. 

"What happened?" Sokka asked frantically. Toph was certain he was wielding his space sword. "Are we being attacked?"

"Toph? What's wrong?" Aang's voice assaulted her ears next.

"I need Katara," Toph yelled. "_Katara_!"

"I'm right here, Toph." Katara rushed into the room and knelt at Toph's other side, resting her hand beneath Zuko's on her back. Toph let out a strangled sob and threw herself into Katara's arms. Toph felt her stiffen in surprise, but she folded her friend into a tight hug and didn't say anything when Toph started to cry.

"My stomach hurts, and I'm bleeding," she told Katara. "I don't know what happened."

Katara froze again, and Toph felt fear well up inside. Zuko had also gone still. From the doorway, Toph heard Sokka groan.

"Oh wonderful," he said sarcastically. "_I__t's _ begun." There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. 

"Cut it out, Sokka," Suki hissed. 

"What's happening?" Aang asked. Only he sounded as confused as Toph felt beneath the agonizing pain and panic. No one else seemed nearly alarmed enough. That irritated Toph, but not enough to make her pull away when Katara's hold tightened.

"Okay, everyone out," Suki ordered. Sokka complied with a sigh of relief, dragging a protesting Aang behind him. 

"Wait!" Toph heard Aang cry. "We can't just leave if she's hurt."

"Shut up, Aang!" Sokka snapped."Katara has it under control " Suki heaved a sigh from the doorway.

"I have a tea that'll help with the pain," she offered. Toph felt Zuko climb to his feet beside her.

"I'll heat up some water,"he said. Then it was just Katara and Toph alone. The worst of Toph's tears had subsided, and Katara was making slow, soothing circles on her back.

"Am I dying?" Toph sniffled. To her surprise, Katara chuckled. 

"No, you aren't dying," Katara promised. "But I thought the same thing my first time." Toph lifted her head from Katara's shoulder, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

"First time?" Toph asked. "First time what?"

"Having my monthly cycle," Katara explained. Toph tilted her head uncomprehendingly. "Didn't your mother explain the monthly cycle?" Toph shook her head slowly, but the concept sounded strangely familiar.

"I-is that like the Moon Curse?"

"Moon curse?" Now Katara was lost. 

"Some of the ladies hanging around the Earth Rumble used to talk about getting a moon curse every month. But it isn't a full moon yet, is it? I don't know how I caught it." Katara made another sound suspiciously like a laugh. Toph's cheeks heated at that. Nothing about this situation felt funny.

"It's not a curse or an illness," Katara explained. "It...it just means you're growing up, that's all. Your body is telling you that it's ready to make babies."

"What?" Toph shrieked, pulling away from Katara's embrace. "I am _ not _ ready to have babies! I am _ never _ having babies!" This time, Katara laughed outright. Toph scowled at her. 

"You don't _ have _ to have babies, Toph," Katara said. "You're just physically able to have them now." She huffed and slapped her hands against her legs. "Seriously. Your mom didn't explain _ any _of this?"

"No." Toph shook her head. Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears. Katara wrapped an arm around Toph's shoulders, and settled them against the bed. 

"Well, it's nothing to worry about," she assured her friend. "Every woman goes through it at some point."

"Hey," Suki returned, poking her head in the door. "I brought the tea." She placed a mug in Toph's hands and filled it with the warm, fragrant tea. "How are you feeling?"

'Lousy," Toph moaned.

"The tea will help," Suki promised. "It's Queen Ilo's root. It relaxes the muscles and helps with cramps."

Toph took a gulp of the tea. It was oddly sweet, and left her mouth feeling a bit numb. 

"First time?" Suki asked sympathetically as she settled on to the floor on Toph's other side. Toph nodded hesitantly and swallowed some more tea.

"Does it always hurt this much?" 

"It's different for everyone," Suki replied."I hardly ever get cramps, but back home, I have friends who have to stay in bed because they're in so much pain."

"I almost always have cramps," Katara told them. "They're usually manageable, but some months they get pretty bad."

"I've never seen you in pain like this," Toph said. She felt Katara shrug. 

"I usually don't have time to acknowledge it." Toph winced in guilt. If Katara felt half as bad as she did at that moment, then she was stronger than Toph gave her credit for. And Toph already thought she was pretty strong. Well, for a girly girl. 

"Oh man!" Toph groaned. "Does this mean I have to start acting like a girl?"

"It means exactly what I told you it means," Katara said. "Nothing about you has to change if you don't want to. You can still roll around in the mud like a monkey hog, and make gross noises with your mouth. You just have the option of being a mother someday, too."

"Good." Toph sighed with relief. Then she yawned. The night's excitement was wearing off. 

"You should get some rest," Katara said. "We can all talk more in the morning."

"We should get you cleaned up first," Suki suggested. "And you'll need fresh sheets." Toph let her head fall against her bed and groaned. Now that the pain was waning, all she wanted was to go back to sleep.

"I have some extra rags," said Katara. "And we can put a towel on your bed until tomorrow."

That was good enough for Toph. After she washed and changed, Katara gave her a menstrual rag. It was made from cotton cloth and stuffed with something soft. Katara told her that this particular one was filled with moss, but they could be filled with llama-sheep wool, or cotton, or wood pulp. Then the older girls walked her through how to secure the rag between her legs. Afterwards, Katara cleaned Toph's bed as best she could, and spread a towel down. As Toph was settling into bed, there was a gentle knock, and Toph heard Zuko call for Katara. She went and spoke to him for a moment. Toph couldn't hear what they were saying, though. When Zuko left, the topic of the conversation became clear.

"He made you a heat roll," Katara told her friends. Toph had to force herself not to roll her eyes. She could hear the smile in Katara's voice. Instead, Toph turned her attention to the heat roll. It was a sock filled with sand and wrapped in a square of silk cloth that Zuko had heated. Toph still didn't understand what it was for until Katara pressed it to her belly. The warmth attacked what ache was left after Suki's tea. It was wonderful! Toph sighed happily and nestled into her pillows.

"Get some sleep," Katara said, stroking Toph's hair hair.

"Good night, Toph," Suki whispered. And as Toph drifted off to sleep, curled around her makeshift heat roll, she thought it might be after all.

++++++

The pain wasn't gone by the time Toph woke up, but it wasn't nearly as bad. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her back, and hear the chatter of her friends from the kitchen. It was morning, probably late morning, and Toph was hungry. She sat up gingerly, in case the pain from the night before decided to come back. Aside from a dull ache in her back, though, she seemed to be fine.

Someone- Katara most likely, or maybe Zuko- had made breakfast. The smell of it invaded Toph's nose and caused her stomach to gurgle loudly. She picked up her pace slightly, trying to avoid bumping into anything. 

Not for the first time, Toph lamented the mostly wooden structure of the villa. There was stone in the foundation, but not enough for Toph to see clearly. Everything was fuzzy around the edges, and Toph couldn't see clearly until she was within a couple of feet of an obstacle. Not ideal for a girl who liked to run pell-mell. She made it to the kitchen without incident, though.

As she expected, all of Toph's friends were in the kitchen. Both Katara and Zuko were at the stove and whatever they were making smelled incredible. When she stepped into the kitchen, there was an abrupt halt in all conversation. No, it wasn't obvious at all what they were talking about. Toph rolled her eyes and went to the table. 

"What's for breakfast," Toph asked, sliding into her seat. She refused to act like anything was different. So she was bleeding from an unmentionable place. So what? Katara had _just_ said Toph didn't have to change if she didn't want to.

"We're having congee and stewed fish," Sokka said. "And Zuko went out for kimchi."

"My favorite." Toph grinned. 

"Yeah, we know," Sokka said. "I guess we're celebrating your...you know… womanly bits- Ow!" Suki jabbed her elbow into Sokka's side. 

"Don't make this awkward," Suki hissed. 

"_You're _making it awkward," Sokka grumbled. "Gran-Gran said that a woman's cycle is a fact of life and it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"No," Katara agreed. She set a bowl down in front of Toph. "But your lack of tact is. Take your foot out of your mouth and eat your breakfast."

Aang was seated next to Toph, and he hadn't said anything yet. Now, with Sokka and Suki falling into a conversation about what to and not to say at breakfast, and Katara and Zuko fixing plates, he leaned over and whispered,

"Last night was scary. Are you ok?" 

"I survived the night," Toph shrugged. She took a mouthful of congee. It was as good as it smelled. Toph was torn between gobbling it all down and eating slowly to savor every bite. If this was how it would be every cycle, Toph thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Are you pregnant?" Suddenly, Toph's delicious meal was choking her. She had inhaled a bit of fish and she sputtered and coughed. 

"Toph!" She heard Katara drop something metal- a spoon or ladle probably- and rush to Toph. She hit the younger girl's back a few times until the fish dislodged. Toph spat it into a napkin and rounded on Aang wildly.

"I'm not pregnant, you idiot!" she shouted. And once more, an awkward silence settled on the room.

"Sorry…" Aang almost whispered. "Sokka said-"

"What?" Sokka sputtered. "I said she could _ get _ pregnant. Not that she _ was. _ Didn't anyone tell you about the otter penguins and the polar bees?"

"Well, the monks-" Sokka cut Aang off with a loud snort.

"Yeah, I'll bet the monks were _ great _ at teaching that kind of thing. Tell you what, Aang. I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"That's the worst idea you've had since you tried to get a fish hook out of your thumb with another fish hook," Katara said with a derisive laugh. "Zuko, can _ you- _"

"Hey! I am just as capable of giving the talk as Prince Pouty over there!"

"Sure," sarcasm dripped from Katara's words thick and heavy. "That's why Aang thought Toph was pregnant."

"I'm sitting _ right here _!" But the conversation had spun out way past Toph's control. She wasn't even embarrassed at that point. Just annoyed.

"Let Zuko take this," Katara insisted. "You can handle hunting."

"Aang is a vegetarian!" Sokka slammed his hand on the table, and probably gestured at Aang. Toph could feel the breeze from the movement. "He doesn't hunt!"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Katara scoffed. "Neither do you." 

"I am the best hunter on this team-" 

"-Self proclaimed-"

"I am the oldest-"

"No, Zuko's the oldest, and the least likely to convince Aang that-"

"Everyone calm down," Zuko's exasperated voice cut above the bickering siblings. "I don't mind talking to Aang about-"

"Hey!" Sokka protested. "I am just as capable-"

"We can both talk to him," Zuko said. Sokka's complaints abruptly faded into discontented grumblings.

"Fine," he agreed in the end. "We can talk to Aang while the girls go have _their_ talk."

"Wait, what?" Toph looked up in surprise. Another uncomfortable silence fell on the room. The third one, Toph noted with some bitter humor. 

"Well," Katara's overly bright voice broke the quiet. "Suki and I decided we'd have a girl's day. Zuko told us about a hot spring not too far from here. We thought you'd like to join us." Toph hesitated. She wasn't fooled. She knew exactly what this was. _ Everyone _knew exactly what this was. It was annoyingly typical of Katara, too. But Toph had questions, too. Questions that she didn't want to ask with the boys around.

"What about training?" Toph asked. "The comet is coming up, and Twinkle Toes still needs a lot of work."

"I'm doing fine!" Aang insisted irritably. 

"We're working on firebending today," Zuko said. "And there'll be plenty of time to get in some earthbending before dinner." 

"Well…" Toph hesitated a moment. "I _ guess _ it sounds good." Across the table, Suki clapped her hands excitedly.

"This is going to be great!" she exclaimed. "I haven't had a good soak in ages."

"Great…" Toph grumbled. "Really looking forward to getting all pruney." 

"It'll be fun," Katara promised. She came over and put her hands on Toph's shoulders, squeezing gently. "We'll pack a picnic and face masks. Just like in Ba Sing Se." Toph sighed. That actually didn't sound too bad.

"Fine," she relented. 

They split up after breakfast. Zuko volunteered to clear the dishes, and recruited Aang to help. He fed the unhappy boy some line about contributing to the chores helping with his discipline. Toph snickered at him and followed Suki and Katara out of the kitchen, leaving Aang griping about why Sokka wasn't helping. 

"Hey," Suki said when the door shut and they had walked a bit down the hall. "Have you changed your rag yet?"

"Huh?" Toph stopped and furrowed her brows. "Um...no."

"You should change it every few hours," Suki told her. "Especially after you've been sleeping."

"Oh…" Toph shifted on her feet uncomfortably. She could feel Suki and Katara exchanging glances over her head.

"Why don't I show you how to change the rag?" Katara offered. Toph nodded, feeling her face heating up.

"Great!" Suki said. "And I'll put together our picnic gear." There was a paise, and then a clapping sound as Katara and Suki slapped a high five. 

Katara bustled Toph into her room and shut the door behind them. Toph suddenly realized how sticky and full her rag felt. She went into her water closet and peeled it off distastefully. 

"What do I do with this?" She asked Katara, who was filling the basin with water. 

"There is a little pocket where the moss is," Katara explained. "You take that out and throw it away. The rag you can wash and reuse later. Get cleaned up and I'll show you."

After Toph washed, she sat down on her chamber pot and Katara explained on a fresh rag how to change the filling. Then she explained to Toph again how to put it on. Toph found herself feeling grateful for Katara's motherliness. She had gone through the whole explanation with Toph sitting half naked on the pot as if there were nothing strange about it. She even helped Toph clean her soiled rag without making it weird.

"Only this time, though," Katara told Toph as she scrubbed out the blood stains. "Your next cycle you're on your on for this part." 

By the time they finished, Suki was waiting for them on the porch, with everything they would need in a large basket at her feet. Toph jumped down the steps onto the ground below. She could see clearly again! She found Zuko and Aang out in the yard going through their warm ups. She couldn't tell where Sokka was, but he didn't seem to be anywhere nearby.

"Sokka's in his room putting together a lesson plan for Aang," Suki told the girls. There was a fond amusement in her voice. "And Zuko said he'd make dinner, so we can stay out all day if we want."

"That's great!" Toph wasn't sure why Katara sounded so surprised. Zuko had been doing more and more of the cooking lately, but every time he offered, Katara acted as if it was the first time he had offered. 

"Maybe we can go into town later," Suki suggested. 

"Sure," Toph snorted. "You think the Ember Island Players are still here?" The three said goodbye to Aang and Zuko, and started off towards the woods behind the villa. 

The hot spring wasn't far, only about a ten minute walk from the beach, but it felt secluded. The trail leading to it wound back and forth like a serpent, and tall trees and thick bush hid any signs of civilization. It made it easy to feel like they were deep in a forest somewhere instead of the Fire Lord's disused vacation compound. Toph knew that was intentional. 

The girls set down their food, blanket and towels far enough from the spring that they weren't of danger of an unintentional splashing. Their clothes went on top of the pile, and they climbed into the spring. Toph sank in with relief she hadn't expected to feel. She wasn't in nearly as much pain as she had been the night before, but the hot water was soothing aches in her back and legs that she hadn't realized were there. 

"This feels amazing," Katara sighed before she submerged herself completely.

"There's nothing like a good soak," Suki said. "I feel like the last month is just washing off."

"It's a bath," Toph said. "I mean, it feels good, but it's not like a good mud pit." Suki laughed at Toph.

"I can't believe _ you _ thought starting your cycle meant you would have to change."

"Yeah, well…" Toph sank into the water up to her nose. Katara broke the surface a moment later, sighing her contentment once again.

"When this war is over, we have to convince Zuko to open this place up again." Katara pushed the wet hair off of her face and tilted her head back against the edge of the spring.

"I'm sure you can find a way to convince him," Suki said with a sly smile. Katara stiffened, and Toph could feel her heartbeat pick up slightly. She cleared her throat nervously. Toph smirked at Katara.

"Oh, yeah," she chuckled. "I'm sure you've got Zuko all wrapped around your little finger, Sugar Queen."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Katara folded her arms tight across her chest and looked away from her friends.

"Really?" Toph flicked her hand and threw a few droplets of water at Katara. "Because I think you do. Does Aang know he's got competition?"

"There _ is _ no competition," Katara grumbled. 

"I'll say." Toph could hear the smirk in Suki's voice, and it made her laugh harder.

"You two are crazy." Katara huffed. 

"Crazy, but not blind." Suki froze as soon as the words left her mouth. She spun towards Toph with a gasp. "I'm sorry, Toph! I didn't think-"

Toph threw her head back and laughed at her, startling some birds in the trees overhead.

"You should see the look on your face!" she said. It took the other girls a moment to process what she said, but then they laughed, too. It took them a few minutes to calm down.

"So, are we going to have our special _ girl talk _?" Toph asked when they had been settled down for a while. Katara and Suki exchanged a glance. Then Katara shrugged.

"Only if you want to," she said. "We can talk about things, or today can just be a break."

"We won't push," Suki promised. Toph felt relieved inwardly. She was worried that her friends would jump right into a lecture. Especially Katara. But they were waiting for her to begin, which suited Toph fine. 

"Do you think the guys are giving Aang the same choice?" Toph asked. Katara and Suki broke into laughter again.

"Those two?" Katara gasped. "Absolutely not!"

"I would pay good money to know how that's going," Suki said. Knowing Sokka, there are going to be diagrams and charts."

"Yeah, and Zuko is going to absolutely butcher some _ wise saying _ from his uncle," Katara added. 

"That poor kid." But Suki and Katara seemed to be more amused than worried. 

"They'll figure it out." Katara shrugged. 

"So what about you two?" Toph asked. "You didn't bring any charts or graphs?"

"Toph, I don't think a visual aid is going to be very helpful here," Katara quipped. That set the girls off laughing again. There may have been a bit of nerves in Toph's laugh, but if her friends noticed, they didn't say anything.

Soon the laughter faded, and the stillness was broken by the cicada song in the trees. Katara and Suki eventually settled comfortably in the spring. Occasionally one of them would make some innocuous comments- about the water, the weather, what Suki packed for lunch- but neither of them mentioned the elephant koi in the water. Toph understood that they meant it when they said they would let her decide the course for the day.

"My mom…" Toph started hesitantly after a while. She cleared her throat at tried again, and Suki and Katara turned their attention towards her. "My mom never told me about...well any of this."

"No wonder you were so freaked out last night," Katara murmured sympathetically. 

"Yeah." Toph scrunched her shoulders in a self conscious shrug. "I mean, I... I've heard about...things. The ladies at the Earth Rumble talked, but no one gave me any details. And the few times I tried to ask my mom- you know- like where babies come from, she would always babble something about duty and obligation. Then she would say I was too young and send me to my room."

"Totally the opposite of growing up on Kyoshi," Suki said. "I mean, no one got explicit, or anything, but I've known where babies come from since I was four."

"My Gran-Gran helped with delivering babies," Katara told them. "I was too young to go with her, but she told me- and Sokka when she could get him to sit still- all about the _ business of babies _ , as she called it. My mom died before she could give me _ the talk _, but in a village of mostly women, you hear things." Suki chuckled and murmured her agreement. Toph brought her hands together under water and picked at a bit of loose skin that the water had softened.

"Were you guys scared the first time?" The older girls fell thoughtfully silent for a moment.

"I don't know if I would say I was scared, necessarily," Suki answered first. "A lot of my friends had already started their cycles before me, so I kind of knew what to expect. I was worried about the cramps mostly. Like I said, I've seen my friends go through a _ lot _of pain." Suki shuddered in spite of the warm water. "But I also saw that they made it through, so I just figured it wasn't any worse than say getting injured in a fight."

Toph crossed her arms over her stomach, remembering the sharp ache that had woken her from sleep. It _ had _ been painful, but like Suki said, it had also passed. Still, Toph wasn't looking forward to that every month.

"I wasn't scared when I started," Katara said. "Back home, it's a big deal for a girl to begin her monthly cycle. Usually all the women take her out to the hot springs in the mountains for four days where she gets everything she needs to join the other women in their duties. Boning knives and a set of ivory needles, stuff like that. She also gets her first set of combs and beads for her hair. Then, at the end, there's a big feast and a bonfire.

"I didn't get to do that, though," Katara sighed wistfully. "By the time I started my cycle, the war had hit us hard. Most of the men had gone to fight, and there was no way all the women in the village could take the time to go all the way to the mountains. And I had been helping the other women for years by that point. But Gran-Gran made my favorite dinner and gave me my beads and needles and knives. It was just the two of us, but it still felt pretty special.

Toph lifted her hands and let the water run between her fingers. This wasn't exactly the way Katara described. They certainly didn't have four days to celebrate, and Toph had no use for needles or hair beads. But she recognized what Katara and Suki we're trying to give her. Sudden tears stung Toph's eyes, and he throat clenched tight around a sob. She held her breath, and ducked her head under water until the sudden urge to cry passed.

"You alright?" Suki asked when Toph surfaced. There was no teasing in her tone. 

"I just…" Toph shrugged helplessly. 

"You know, once during one of my cycles," Katara told the other girls, "I lost one of Gran-Gran's socks while I was doing laundry. I cried about it for an hour. And then I found it, and I cried for another ten minutes because I was so happy." Suki laughed.

"That's nothing. I get really cranky during my cycles, and it took me a while to realize that was why. All I knew was that suddenly everything felt like a personal insult. Someone used the last of the ilo tea, or they're cooking something that smells really bad, or they're breathing too loud... there are months where I just want to fight with _ everyone _.

"Oh, I have been there, too," Katara said.

"Yeah, there were times when I thought I was going crazy! But some of the older women said they felt like that too, sometimes. I was so relieved to hear that I wasn't alone! I mean, I still feel that, but now I know why I get so angry and it's way easier to deal with.

"I don't want to start getting all weepy," Toph complained. "I'd rather be angry."

"No one would notice the difference," Katara snickered. Toph scowled at her.

"Yeah, well you're always weepy, so no one can tell with you either."

"And _ there's _ the cranky mood swing," Suki teased. 

"How can you tell?" Katara asked. Toph splashed Katara again, with a much bigger wave this time. Katara waved her arm, and suddenly a globe of cold water dropped on Toph's head. She gasped at the drastic difference in temperature and sputtered angrily. Katara and Suki were laughing.

"Don't start a splash fight with-" Katara was cut off when Toph sent another wave at her face. Soon Katara and Toph were in the middle of a splash fight, shrieking and laughing as they churned the water like a storm. Suki tried to stay out of it, but soon she was drawn into the fight, too. It ended some time later when Toph, gasping for air, called a draw. 

"Draw nothing," Katara scoffed. "I won, and you both know it!"

"Sure, if you call cheating winning," Suki panted. 

"Let's have a real spar later," Toph challenged her. 

Not long after that, the girls decided it was time for lunch. They climbed out of the spring, and once Katara had pulled the water from their hair and under clothes, they spread out the blanket and laid out their afternoon meal. Suki had brought bread, and cheese and dried meat. There was so a bottle of moon peach wine, which Katara and Toph had never tasted, along with a skin of drinking water. Katara cooled both of these down and the girls tucked into their lunch. Toh found that despite the hearty breakfast that morning, she was ravenously hungry now. She mentioned it to her friends.

"That's me every month!" Suki exclaimed as she poured a round of wine. "It starts a day or two before my cycle. All of the sudden I can't have enough to eat."

"I get cravings during mine," Katara told them. "Salty and sweet things. We don't have anything like that at home, though. So I started putting stewed sea prune juice on my akutaq. The first time Sokka saw me do that, I swear, he almost threw up."

"What's akutaq?" Toph asked. 

"It's a dessert we make with wild summer berries and tiger seal blubber. Sometimes we add sugar if we can get it, but trade with the Earth Kingdom has been slow, so sugar is rare." 

"Sounds…" Suki trailed off, trying to find the right adjective. She had tried stewed sea prunes once as a child. Only once. She couldn't imagine the briny broth combined with a sweet dessert. Katara laughed.

"It tastes amazing," she swore. "And I made Sokka try it with the prune juice on a dare, and now he loves it, too."

"I'll take your word for it," Suki said. "But if you like salty and sweet, we actually have a candy like that on Kyoshi. Salted caramel."

"We have that in Gaoling, too," Toph said. Katara nodded.

"I had it in Omashu. It's amazing, but I will always love akutaq and sea prunes."

"I can't wait to see what kind of cravings you have when you actually get pregnant," Suki laughed. 

"Well, don't hold your breath," Katara said. "That won't happen for a long, _ long _ time."

"_You _ don't want kids?" Toph gapped at Katara. 

"Oh sure," Katara said. "Someday. When I find the right guy. But so many of the women at home had kids at like 16. I _just_ turned 15, and I can't imagine getting married and having kids _ next year _."

"I wouldn't mind getting married young," Suki mused. 

"Ugh!" Toph groaned. "I hope I never fall in love. I'm too awesome to be tied down to a family."

"I didn't think I wanted to get married, either," Suki told her. "There are a lot of women back on Kyoshi who decided not to get married, or who were widowed or divorced. Most of them make it look like a great life. I thought I wanted that life, too, but I don't know. Lately the family life is starting to look pretty good."

"And my _ brother _ is the one who changed your mind?" Katara asked dubiously.

"Oh! Sokka's a sweetheart!' Suki insisted. "I wouldn't mind hitching my wagon to his. Besides, he comes with an awesome sister." Katara clapped in delight.

"I always wanted a sister," she giggled. 

"My mom always made marriage sound like a big chore that had to be done to make sure your family name continued." Toph wanted to change the topic before Suki and Katara started braiding each other's hair.

"It depends," Suki told her. "If you marry someone who loves and respects you as an equal, marriage can be pretty great. Or so I hear. My parents seemed happy with the arrangement."

"My parents, too," Katara said. 

"Sometimes I don't think my parents even like each other," Toph grumbled. "I don't ever want my life to be like theirs."

"It isn't," Katara assured her. "It already isn't anything like your parents' life. Look at everything you've been able to accomplish so young. There's no way you'll end up in an unhappy marriage."

"That's right," Suki said, ruffling Toph's bangs. "Toph Beifong is destined to do amazing things. And anyone that manages to catch your eye would have to be equally amazing."

"They'd _ have _ to be amazing," Toph said. "No one has _ ever _ managed to catch my eye." This time, Suki didn't get embarrassed about her gaffe. 

"My aunt never married," she told her friends. "Before my parents died, she travelled all over the Earth Kingdom. She always said that she refused to marry until she could find someone who could keep up and not hold her back. She had some great offers, too. King Kuei's brother asked her to marry him, but she turned him down. He expected her to give up her life to be a proper Earth Kingdom noble lady."

"Your aunt sounds really smart," Toph said. 

"Yeah," Suki agreed fondly. "She is. She'd be a bit disappointed if I told her I wanted to get married. But hey, I could do worse than the prince of the Southern Water Tribe." Katara snorted and choked on a bit of her wine.

"Is Sokka still calling himself that?" she asked incredulously. "He isn't a prince. Our dad is the chief, and Sokka will probably take the position next, if he wants it and the tribe thinks he's worthy, but it's not like we have a ruling class. Not like the other nations have, anyway."

"I know," Suki assured Katara. "He explained it to me. But it makes him feel good having a fancy title, so I figured, why not? Besides, title or no, your family _ is _ the closest thing the Southern Water Tribe has to royalty."

"No!" Toph groaned. "Don't give Katara any reason to feel like she's got _ more _ authority. Sugar Queen is enough. We don't need to add _ Princess Katara _."

"You guys are the worst," Katara huffed. "As princess, I should banish you two from my kingdom."

"This is technically _ Zuko's _ kingdom," Suki pointed out. 

"Yeah, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing it with you," Toph snickered wickedly. Katara sniffed haughtily, and busied herself with making a sandwich.

"Anyway," she said broadly, "we've been out here for hours already. Do you have any questions, Toph?" 

"I thought you two weren't going to press me about this." Toph frowned suspiciously. 

"We're not," Suki promised laughingly. "Katara just wants to stop talking about Zuko. Her face is _so_ red!' 

"Cut it out!" Katara elbowed Suki in the side.

"You should feel her heartbeat," Toph teased.

"I'm serious!" Katara tried to force anger into her voice, but the combination of the spring, the wine and the company didn't give her protests any bite. Still her friends gave off after another minute or two. Toph had been thinking about Katara's question, and at last, she said,

"I have questions," she admitted. "A lot of them. But... I kind of don't want to talk about it right now."

"That's fine," Katara nodded in understanding. "When I first learned about ...well, everything, it was kind of overwhelming for me, too."

"Same," Suki agreed. "I think it took a year of chats with my aunt before I got all my questions answered. So, whenever you want to talk about anything, you let us know." 

Tears sprang into Toph's eyes again. Oh! She hoped that these new overwhelming feelings were temporary. She nodded and cleared her throat.

"Thanks," she said, with an impressive lack of quiver in her voice. "For everything."

The girls wound up spending the rest of the afternoon at the spring. The sun was beginning it's decent to the horizon when they emerged from the woods, joking and laughing to hard. Sokka and Aang were in the courtyard, deep in conversation. They stopped talking abruptly when they noticed the girls. Aang's face went beet red and then pale. 

'Oh!" he gasped, swallowing hard. "I just...we... I... I'm going to see if Zuko needs help in the kitchen." Then Aang took off running as if an entire company of Fire Nation soldiers were on his tail.

"What's his problem?" Toph wondered. Katara turned to her brother with her arms folded and her foot tapping pointedly.

"What did you say to him?" she demanded. Sokka drew drew himself to his full height and turned his nose up.

"Manly things," he sniffed haughtily. 

"Uh-huh," Suki said, sounding amused. "Do we have to unteach him anything?" Sokka rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously.

"Well...ah…" he stammered. "Not really, but someone may want to follow up with him about where babies come from."


End file.
